Packaging machine



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1963 11v VEN TOR. Geoffrey FDobbyn WM GL 0% ATTOR/VKY Sept. 27, 1966 G. F. DOBBYN PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27 1963 INVENFOR Geoffrey Fflobbyn Sept. 27, 1966 G. F. DOBBYN PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 27 1963 lll.

INVEN TOR. Geoffrey /-T Debby/2 BY WM Mm ATTORNEY Sept. 27, 1966 G. F. DOBBYN PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 27, 1963 SSUJ INVENTOR. Geoffrey F Dobbyn BY W M m TT ATT R Y United States Patent 3,275,043 PACKAGING MACHINE Geoffrey F. .Dobbyn, Braintree, Mass., assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited, Quincy, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 27, 1963, Ser. No. 283,220 6 Claims. (Cl. 141-142) This invention relates to a packaging machine.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved packaging machine, and more particularly a volumetric filling machine wherein a plurality of measured loads are formed by continuously moving measuring instrumentalities and delivered into containers arranged to move with the filling instrumentalities during the period that the formed 1oads are delivered into the containers, and in which novel provision is made for releasing successive loads into their respective containers in a manner such as to provide a smooth and gradual release of the load in a substantially uniform stream.

The invention has for a further object to provide a novel and improved volumetric filling machine of the character specified wherein novel provision is made for rendering inoperative the material releasing means in the event that a container is not present to receive a load.

With these general objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the volumetric filling machine and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a volumetric filling machine embodying the present invention, shown partly in cross section;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, the material supply hopper being shown in cross section;

'FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the machine shown in FIG. 2 illustrating the container detecting mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the load measuring receptacle showing the shutter closed;

FIG. 5 is a detail view .partly in cross section of the shutter operating mechanism moved to an inoperative position;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the cam rail designed to prevent jamming of the shutter operating mechanism when inadvertently misaligned with the cam rail;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the shutter operating resetting mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 9 is a wiring diagram to be referred to; and

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the pneumatic circuit for rendering the shutter opening mechanism inoperative when no container is present to receive a .load.

In general the present invention contemplates a volumetric filling machine wherein successive measured loads are formed in volumetric measuring chambers which are continuously moved in a circular path, and the measured loads are delivered into successive containers moved along with the measuring chambers. Each measuring chamber is provided with a shutter arranged to be opened to release its load into a container, and in accordance wtih one feature of the present invention provision is made for gradually opening the shutter during the continuou movement of the :measuring chamber along with the container whereby to release the material into the container in a substantially uniform stream. Thisexpedient is of particular advantage when running free flowing comminuted materials whereby to reduce to a minimum the creation of dust in the atmosphere, such as might occur when the shutter is opened rapidly to discharge the entire load in a mass. Gradual release of the material from the measuring chamber, particularly from a point a substantial distance above the container, prevents spattering of the material upon impact with the bottom of the container and also provides more uniform levels of the material at the top of the container.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, novel provision is made for detecting the presence of a container being moved into alignment with its measuring chamber and for preventing opening of the shutter in the event that no container is preset for such measuring chamber. In such event, the load in the measuring chamber is retained therein during its movement through a circular path until it again comes into alignment with a container during a succeeding cycle of operation.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a rotary filling machine of the general type illustrated and described in the United States patent to T. P. Howard, No. 2,716,534, issued August 30, 1955. As herein shown, the present machine comprises a generally circular non-rotating hopper 10 containing a supply of the material delivered thereto by gravity or otherwise through a pipe 12 connected to a main source of supply, and a series of telescopically adjustable measuring chambers 14 equally spaced in a circle and mounted t-o revolve beneath the hopper 10 to receive their loads.

As illustrated in plan in FIG. 2, the hopper 10 is irregular in shape, having a side wall 11 of large radius in one portion of its periphery arranged to extend over a number of the chambers 14 to efiect filling thereof as the chambers pass under the large radius portion of the hopper. The hopper is also provided with a side wall 13 formed on a smaller radius so that as the chambers are rotated beyond such side wall they are maintained out of contact with the material in the hopper andare open to the atmosphere.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the upper portions of the telescopically adjustable measuring chambers 14 may comprise a plurality of flanged tubes 15 supported in and depending from a rotary disk 18 which forms the bottom of the hopper. The rotary disk 18 is provided with an upstanding annular side wall 20 having a flange or track portion 22 arranged to ride on and be supported by a plurality of rollers 24, only one of which is shown, and which are supported by vertically adjustable supports not shown.

The lower portion of each measuring chamber 14 comprises a flanged tubular portion 16 telescopically fitted about the upper tube 15, the lower or outlet end of the lower portion 16 being cut off at an angle of about 45 as shown. The lower portion 16 is supported in a bracket 26 having an extension 28 secured to and radially arranged with respect to a rotary disk 30 carried by and rotatable with a continuously rotated central shaft 32. In order to initially adjust each lower portion 16 vertically relative to the upper portion 15 so that each measuring chamber will hold an equal volume, each lower portion 16 is provided with a clamp ring 17 which rests on the upper surface of the bracket 26 and in which thelowerportion may be adjusted and clamped in its adjusted position. The telescoping connection permits adjustment of the measuring chambers 14 and also imparts rotary movement to the upper portions 16 of the chambers and the rotary disk 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the central shaft 32 may be driven by connections including a worm .gear drive 34 connected to a shaft 36 which in turn may be connected to a drive shaft 38 through a second worm gear drive 40. The drive-shaft 38 maybe driven by an electric motor 42 belted to a pulley 44 fast on the drive shaft 38.

The containers, herein shown as cartons 46, may b delivered to the machine along a conveyer 48 by an up- (3 standing flexible belt 50 having .a series of spaced blocks 52 attached thereto and between which the cartons are engaged. The belt 50 is also provided with suitable spaced projections 53 on its inner face for cooperation with a driving pulley 54 fast on the central shaft 32, the pulley 54 having sockets to receive the projections 53 and arranged to register successive cartons in alignment with their respective filling units. In the operation of the filling machine the cartons may be delivered along the conveyer 48 from a supply thereof, and successive cartons 46 are arranged to come into alignment with successive filling units at the point of tangency'with the semicircular path through which the cartons are guided in the machine. The cartons remain in alignmentwith their respective filling units through 180 and are then delivered from the machine on a discharge conveyer 55. The cartons are moved along a stationary bottom rail 56 and are guided by suitable side rails 58 as illustrated.

Each measuring chamber 14 is provided with a cam operated shutter 60 arranged to cooperate with the angular outlet of the chamber, and each'shutter is attached to a link 62 hingedly connected by spaced pins 64 carried by the supporting bracket 26. The link 62 forms part of a parallel linkage mechanism radially arranged with respect to the central shaft 32 and its measuring chamber and which includes a second link 66 hingedly connected to spaced extensions 68 from the bracket 26, and a connecting link 70 extending between the lower ends of the shape of the cam rail effects gradual opening of the shutter 1 through 90 of its travel whereby to gradually release the contents of the measuring chamber in a substantially uniform stream so as to prevent. dumping of the entire load in one mass with its consequent disadvantages. 7

Provision is also made in accordance with the present invention for rendering the shutter opening mechanism inoperative in the event that no carton is present to receive the load from its measuring chamber. As illustrated in detail in FIG. 6, the cam roll 72 is mounted for rotation on a stud 92 carried bythe bracket 69 secured to the end of the link 70 of theparallel linkage. The stud 92is provided with two spaced circumferential grooves 94, 96 arrangedto be engaged by a spring pressed ball 98 carried by the bracket 69. The cam roll 72 is normally in a lowered position of operation aligned in operative engagement with the cam rail 74, as shown in FIG. 1, and when the cam roll is in an elevated position it willbe above the cam rail, as shown in FIGS..4 and "5, so that-the contents of the measuring chamber will not be released.

links 62 and 66. An extension bracket 69 secured to the link 70 carries a cam roll 72 mounted to rotate on a vertical axis which cooperates with a cam rail 74 arranged to effect gradual pivotal opening of the shutter 60 to release the measured load into a carton during a portion of the travel of the measuring chamber, through the semicircular path, the material being guidedinto the carton through a funnel 76 secured to the underside of the bracket 26. The shutter 60 is returned to and normally maintained in its closed position by a' pair of springs '78 connected between studs 80 oarried by the link 70 and studs 82 extended from the bracket 26.

In the operation of the machine successive measuring chambers are filled .as they pass under the filling portion 11 of the hopper 10 at which time the chambers 14 are closed by the shutters 60, and when the measuring chambers pass out from under the filling portion of the hopper, the shutters are gradually opened by the cam rail 74 to release the measured loads. As herein shown, each cam roll 72 is normally disposed to engage the leading end 84 of the cam rail 74 when the chambers pass out from under the filling portion 11, the leading 'end of the cam rail being beveled slightly to guide the roll onto the outer face of the cam track as shown in FIG. 3. The cam rail 74 is bowed outwardly in non-concentric relation with respect to a line concentric with the radius of the centers of the measuring chambers, as shown in FIG. 2, so that in operation each shutter is gradually opened from a closed position at the leading end ofthe cam rail to a fully opened position at a point about 90. from said leading end. Beyond the 90 point the cam rail is reduced a height, as shown in FIG. 7, so as to permit the shutter to be again closed by the springs 78. As herein shown, at the 90 point the upper portion of the track is curved inwardly as indicated at 85 so that the roll 72 may be gradually guided to its closed position. Thereafter, the closed measuring chambers pass under the filling portion of the hopper to again be supplied with material for succeeding containers. As herein shown, the cam rail 74 extends shutter 60 when a carton is present to receive the loadQ through substantially 180 and is connected at its ends to opposed upright frame members 86, 88. The rail may also be connected at spaced intervals by tie bars 89 extended from the rail to the carton guiderails 58 as shown.

From the description thus far, it will be seen that the with a substantially straight line motion and in a radial The cam roll is normally in a lowered position with the ball 98 in engagement with-the upper groove 94,.and when the roll is moved upwardly with its pin 92 the spring pressedball98 is engaged in the lower groove 96. As illustrated in detail in FIG. 5, the pin 92 is' provided with I 'shaft 102 carried by a bracket 104 secured to aside rail 106 of the conveyer. A second arm 108 formedintegrally with and extended at right angles to the feeler arm is connected to a spring 110 arranged to urge the feeler arm inwardly as limited by a stop 112 which is engaged by a stopscrew 109 canied by the arm 108; The carton engaging end 114 of the feeler arm 100 is of a length such as to extend-between two adjacent spaced'cartons being moved along the conveyer. to prevent inward movement of the arm when successive cartons are present. However, when a carton is absent the arm 100 will swing inwardly causing the arm 108 to engage and close .a microswitch 116 connected in a circuit 117 with a solenoid operated valve 118 as shown in FIG. 9. The solenoid operated valve 118 is also connected in an air circuit 120 which includes an air cylinder 122.; As shown in FIG; 10, the air ,clrcuit may be connected to .a suitable source :of air under pressure by a pipe' 124 and is provided with a conventional filter 126 and pressure regulator 128. The air cylinder 122 is provided with a piston 126 arranged to engage the underside of a pivotally mounted plate 130 supported in a bracket 132 attached to the frame 'member 86. The pivotally mounted plate 130 is normally disposed in a horizontal position immediately preceding the leading end of the cam rail .74 and in a plane relative to the top of the cam rail such asrto permit the cam .roll 72 to pass over the plate and into. operative engagement with the outer face of the cam rail, toelfect opening of the However, when the carton feelerarm 100 swings inward- 1y, indicating that a carton is absent from the line, the

7 solenoid valve 118 is energized to open the valve to per-- mit air to flow to the cylinder 122 and to causethe piston 126 to engage the underside of the pivotally mounted plate and rock the same upwardly to a position where the free end of the plate 130 is above the top of the cam rail.

move- As illustrated in, V

as shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 1 and 10. Thus, when the measuring chamber, corresponding to a missing carton, moves into load releasing position, the cam roll 72 will engage the upper surface of the inclined plate 130 and be forced to its upper position above the top of the cam rail whereby to prevent opening of the shutter and release of the load. The load will then be carried around to be released during the following cycle of operation if a carton is present on the conveyer.

During its travel through the discharge portion of the rotary path of movement of the measuring chamber with its cam roll 72 elevated above the cam rail the shutter remains closed, and as the cam roll approaches the trailing end 134 of the cam rail the upper end of the cam roll stud 92 engages an upwardly and inwardly inclined elongated guide plate 136 secured to frame member 88, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, to efiect return of the cam roll to its lowered position in readiness for the succeeding cycle of operation. With the shutter in its closed position, the cam roll 72 follows a fixed radius, and the upper end of the stud first engages a relatively high point of the inclined surface of the plate 136, and as the roll follows its fixed radius it will engage progressively lower portions of the elongated inclined guide plate to lower the roll to its normal position.

While the cam roll 72 is normally guided onto the outer face of the cam rail 74, in the event that the cam roll is inadverently positioned to follow the inner face of the cam rail provision is made for elevating such misaligned cam roll to its upper position above the cam rail whereby to prevent jamming of the roll when it travels beyond the 90 point where the roll is normally moved inwardly to close the shutter as indicated at 85. For this purpose, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a short rail 140 secured to the inner face of the cam rail adjacent the 90 point is provided with an upwardly inclined surface 142 arranged to engage the underside of the roll 72 and to elevate it above the cam rail. Such elevated roll will be subsequently returned to its lowered position by the inclined plate 136 in readiness for the next cycle of operation.

From the above description it will be seen that the present invention provides novel shutter opening mechanism adapted to release the measured load gradually in a substantially uniform stream, and also provides novel and elficient mechanism for preventing release of a measured load in the event that a carton is absent from the line to receive the load.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a rotary volumetric filling machine, in com-bination, a plurality of measuring chambers mounted to be continuously moved in a rotary path, means for filling said chambers during their movement through one portion of said rotary path, a conveyer for presenting successive containers into operative position to receive the measured loads during their movement through another portion of said rotary path, each of said measuring chambers having a pivotally mounted shutter, means for gradually opening said shutters including a stationary cam rail, a cam roll operatively connected to said pivotally mounted shutter for cooperation with said cam rail, said cam roll being mounted for movement vertically into and out of operative relation to said cam rail, .and control means for preventing cooperation of the cam roll with said rail to prevent opening of the shutter and release of its load in the event that a container is absent from the conveyer to receive said load, said control means including means for detecting the presence of successive containers being advanced into operative relation to their respective measuring chambers, and means responsive to said detecting means for elevating the roll above the cam rail when a container is found to be absent.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the leading end of the cam rail is arranged to guide the cam roll along the outer face of the rail, and means for moving the roll out of operative engagement with the rail in the event that the roll is inadverently guided along the inner face of the cam rail.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the pivotally mounted shutter is secured to a parallel linkage by which the cam roll is carried, said parallel linkage maintaining the roll in a substantially parallel plane for cooperation with said cam rail during pivotal opening of the shutter.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1 which includes means for returning the cam roll to its normally lowered position into operative relation to said cam rail for a succeeding cycle of operation.

5. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for elevating the roll above the cam rail includes a pivotally mounted and normally horizontal plate arranged to cooperate with the underside of said cam roll, a pneumatic circuit having .a solenoid operated valve arranged to be opened by said detecting means, and a cylinder in said circuit arranged to rock said plate to an inclined position to effect elevation of said roll when a container is found to be absent.

6. In a rotary volumetric filling machine, in combination, a plurality of measuring chambers mounted to be continuously moved in a rotary path, means for filling said chambers during their movement through one portion of said rotary path, a conveyer for presenting successive containers into operative position to receive the measured loads during their movement through another portion of said rotary path, each of said measuring chambers having a pivotally mounted shutter, means for opening said shutters including a stationary cam rail, a cam roll operatively connected to said pivotally mounted shutter for cooperation with said cam rail, said cam roll being mounted to move vertically into and out of cooperative engagement with said cam rail, control means including means for detecting the absence of a container on the conveyer, and means responsive thereto for effecting vertical movement of the roll to a position above and out of operative engagement with the rail when a container is found to be absent from the conveyer to receive said load.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,320,581 6/1943 First et al 141-l42 X 2,815,046 12/1957 McBean et a1 141142 X 3,097,672 7/1963 Minard 141-142 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

E. EARLS, Assistant Examiner. 

6. IN A ROTARY VOLUMETRIC FILLING MACHINE, IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF MEASURING CHAMBERS MOUNTED TO BE CONTINUOUSLY MOVED IN ROTARY PATH, MEANS FOR FILLING SAID CHAMBERS DURING THEIR MOVEMENT THROUGH ONE PORTION OF SAID ROTARY PATH, A CONVEYOR FOR PRESENTING SUCCESSIVE CONTAINERS INTO OPERATIVE POSITION TO RECEIVE THE MEASURED LOADS DURING THEIR MOVEMENT THROUGH ANOTHER PORTION OF SAID ROTARY PATH, EACH OF SAID MEASURING CHAMBERS HAVING A PLURALITY MOUNTED SHUTTER, MEANS FOR OPENING SAID SHUTTERS INCLUDING A STATIONARY CAM RAIL, A CAM ROLL OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTED SHUTTER FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID CAM RAIL, SAID CAM ROLL BEING MOUNTED TO MOVE VERTICALLY INTO AND OUT OF COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM RAIL, CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR DETECTING THE ABSENCE OF A CONTAINER ON THE CONVEYOR, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE THERETO FOR EFFECTING VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF THE ROLL TO A POSITION ABOVE AND OUT OF OPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RAIL WHEN A CONTAINER IS FOUND TO BE ABSENT FROM THE CONVEYOR TO RECEIVE SAID LOAD. 